Reflections on Luxembourg’s Foreign Policy
I am delighted to have been given the opportunity by the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council to speak about the foreign policy of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg is certainly not an international heavy-weight but its influence is larger than its size.
My intention is to reflect on various recent periods that have shaped the current foreign policy, the roots of which go back to the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
A country's diplomacy cannot be separated from its history, and history is influenced by geography. I therefore feel that I should start by giving some explanation of Luxembourg's history and geography which will explain the fundamentals behind its foreign relations.
The Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg is a small country by any standard. Its size is 2500 sqkm with a population of 550.000 inhabitants. 45% of the residents are foreigners. Its central location in Western Europe has been both a curse and a blessing.
How come Luxembourg still exists today in the heart of Europe as an independent country whilst so many much bigger states disappeared throughout Europe’s troubled history? It is a fact that history has not always been kind to my country.
Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the County - and later Duchy - of Luxembourg was one of the major powers in Europe. This may be hard to believe nowadays, but at the time, a count or duke with extended territories could be more powerful than many a king. The Counts of Luxembourg played their hand well. Their territories were much bigger than modern Luxembourg with vast lands located in present day France, Germany and Belgium. Building powerful networks, four Counts were elected Kings of the Holy Roman Empire and three were crowned Emperors. The most famous was Emperor Charles IV, founder of the University of Prague.
For a long period, Luxembourg’s dynasty would be Kings of Bohemia and even Kings of Hungary. Luxembourg princesses married heirs all over Europe: in France and also in England, as Richard II’s first wife was Anne of Luxembourg. Jacquetta of Luxembourg, another princess, became the mother of Queen-consort Elisabeth Woodville in the 15th century.
No empire lasts for ever. When no male heirs were born, the Dukes of Luxembourg’s possessions were taken over in a typical medieval way by the same play of alliances, marriages and conquests that created the dynasty in the first place. The Duchy would occasionally belong to Burgundy, form part of the Spanish Netherlands, passed on to the Austrians and the French from time to time. We Luxembourgers call this period between the late 15th century and 1815, the period of foreign domination. That is of course a typical 19th century view because at the time, the inhabitants did not have much sense of national identity. Administratively, however, the duchy remained a coherent entity.
Modern Luxembourg was born in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna with the upgraded status of a Grand-Duchy in order to please its new owner, the King of the Netherlands. It was not part of the Dutch Kingdom but the King’s “private property”. Run by a Dutch administration, the fortress had a Prussian garrison and the status of a German federal fortress. Everything was done to keep the mightiest fortress in northern Europe - the “Gibraltar of the North” - safe from French influence in post-Napoleonic Europe. French intellectual and administrative influences would, however, be significant. Economically, Luxembourg became part of the German customs union, the Zollverein.
In 1839 the first London conference formalised the sovereignty of the country after Belgium split from the Netherlands. For us Luxembourgers it marks the official birth of our independence.
In 1867 another London conference established the permanent neutrality of the Grand-Duchy and ordered the dismantling of the fortress. Napoleon III’s attempts to buy the country and fortress from the Dutch king had almost triggered a war with Prussia.
The imposed neutrality should have determined Luxembourg’s foreign policy for decades. It was meant to protect the country but could not counter Luxembourg’s strategic location between two nations that would be at each other’s throats for three successive wars.
Although unrightfully occupied by the Imperial German army in 1914, the population did not suffer the same terrible fate as Belgium. There was a shortage of food and other commodities but nothing compared to what was to come 25 years later. Nonetheless the occupation was unacceptable to many Luxembourgers who joined the French Foreign Legion in their thousands to fight the Germans in the trenches together with the Allies. Over this period they totalled 2800 - which is quite remarkable for a country with only 220.000 inhabitants at the time.
Between 1867 and 1940, Luxembourg foreign policy was based on its faith in universal respect for international treaties and the non-violation of its neutrality. The occupation in 1914 was probably considered as the exception and after the war Luxembourg’s government maintained its neutral status.
The WWII and the fundamental changes in the Luxembourg Foreign Policy
In 1940, for the second time in 25 years, the country’s neutrality was violated, exactly like Belgium’s and the Netherlands’. Luxembourg authorities came to the conclusion that a new international order was needed as, obviously, the old system did not protect us.
One of the promoters of this new vision was the then reigning Grand-Duchess Charlotte herself.
In 1940 she fled the country with her family and her government, literally with the Wehrmacht on her heels. She did not want to become a hostage of the Nazi regime. Fleeing through Europe, she eventually settled down in London, in a handsome town house in Wilton Crescent in Belgravia which houses the Luxembourg Embassy to this day.
Grand-Duchess Charlotte spent the war in exile. Like De Gaulle, she regularly spoke on the BBC, encouraging Luxembourgers to endure their terrible hardship. In London, she worked together with other leaders and travelled to the US to meet President Roosevelt.
In her, Roosevelt saw a charismatic figure and a perfect ambassador for promoting his own views as he knew that an entry into war by the USA was inevitable. He asked her to travel to the Midwest in order to meet the descendants of Luxembourgers who, in the 19th century, had left a poor and rural country in great numbers. Grand-Duchess Charlotte addressed these communities and others and spoke about the terrible hardship the European people were enduring at the hands of the Nazis. Working together with Roosevelt and other leaders, she and her cabinet realised that the future assurance of Luxembourg’s security and integrity could no longer rely on neutrality and isolationism, but on its involvement within the international community. They decided to join the efforts of the Allies to create a new order which would make wars like these impossible.
Even before the end of the war a number of important decisions were therefore taken: Luxembourg would sign the Benelux Treaty in 1944 with Belgium and the Netherlands and would take part in the San Francisco conference creating the United Nations. The doctrine of neutrality was officially abandoned. Meanwhile, the future Grand-Duke, Prince Jean, became a Lieutenant in the Irish Guards after having finished his military education at Sandhurst. He landed in Normandy in June 1944 and fought with them all the way through France and into the heart of Germany. He was joined by the hundred Luxembourgers who had managed to escape the Nazis and who joined the Luxembourg contingent. There are photographs at the Luxembourg Embassy in London of them parading through Wilton Crescent before leaving for France.
The Second World War with its destruction and vast death toll was an absolute game-changer for Luxembourg. In number of casualties per capita, Luxembourg ranks directly behind Poland.
The objectives and resources of Luxembourg’s foreign policy
These are similar to the objectives of our allies and partners with whom we share the same values based on the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. One can add nuclear non-proliferation and a dynamic development aid policy.
Luxembourg endeavours to be a responsible, reliable and useful member of the international community. We strongly support multilateralism as it is implemented by the UN. We also want to demonstrate our permanent solidarity with our allies via our involvement in NATO military missions, NATO programmes, etc.
As a founding member of the European Union, Luxembourg has promoted European integration since the Fifties. We belong to those countries that have a deep sense of gratitude towards the Europe which we shaped collectively after the war and which has guaranteed a peaceful development in an historically war-ridden continent.
The same objectives are promoted via our membership, in most cases as a founding member, of other international organisations with the same fundamental priorities. These are the UN of course, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, NATO, etc. - but also the many international financial institutions like the IMF; World Bank, EBRD, etc.
A more recent and non-negligible objective is the promotion of Luxembourg’s business and trade interests throughout the world. Again, nothing extraordinary, as economic diplomacy has become an increasingly attractive way to make embassies more profitable and useful in the eyes of the people in the ministries of finance. (Nation branding)
Luxembourg’s current foreign policy is based on the Triple D principle: Diplomacy, Development and Defence. The departments dealing with these issues are located at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are all managed by the ministry’s Secretary General, the equivalent of the FCO’s Permanent Under-Secretary.
One Minister alone, however, could not manage such a huge multi-facetted department: the workload would be overwhelming. The Minister for Foreign and European Affairs since 2004, Jean Asselborn, is thus not simultaneously Minister for Development or Minister of Defence. The careful balance of coalition governments means that the two other ministerial posts are often given to ministers from other coalition parties.
Coordination is ensured by the fact that the Ministry’s Directors are all diplomats. This coordination aims to ensure an integrated foreign policy in which all sectors are working towards the same goal. I would not want to pretend that it is not the same for any other country but the limited resources available force us to make the utmost of their potential and create as many synergies as possible. The small size of the department makes coordination and informal consultation very easy. Information flows quickly and colleagues not only know what is going on in their neighbouring department but also know how to assist and contribute efficiently.
Figures:
When I joined the ministry as a diplomat 22 years ago, I became Number 54 of 54 diplomats. I have moved up a little bit since, but we now number more than 100. This reflects our growing engagement in the EU, in bilateral relations and more recently in the UN. We reinforced a number of embassies, especially multilateral missions like Brussels, Geneva and New York and we expanded our diplomatic network, opening a number of embassies in Ankara, New Delhi, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, Warsaw and Prague. We are working on plans to send resident Ambassadors to Africa and South America. Many countries are covered by non-resident ambassadors by means of regional embassies. London is one as I am ambassador to Ireland and Iceland as well. In total we have 37 resident missions. Luxembourg diplomats are accredited to 73 countries and 16 international organisations.
Treaties between Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium assure us of Dutch representation for diplomatic and political purposes and Belgian support for trade and consular services in the other countries. In addition to the traditional diplomatic network, Luxembourg maintains a dynamic network of honorary consulates throughout the world which assist embassies with trade and consular services. (146)
Besides traditional diplomacy, the Development Department is an important division reflecting Luxembourg’s strong commitment towards development aid. We are one of three countries globally allocating 1% of GDP to development aid. This is a constant policy promoted by all successive governments, whatever their colour and is fully supported by Luxembourg’s public. Even painful cuts in social benefits during the last years have not weakened this support. It is Luxembourg’s gratitude for its recent welfare and its desire to share some of this with populations around the world who need support and assistance.
The department runs a network of 10 partnering countries. Luxembourg’s aid policy is concentrated mainly on education, gender equality and health issues. We want our actions to make a difference. This is why the partners are never big countries with immense needs. We work with countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Laos, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali. Mali, of course, is a sad story as it is one of our historic partners. Now, instead of aid workers, Luxembourg military personnel are being sent to Mali. Years of effort to educate populations have been annihilated by putsches and the surge of militant jihadism in the Sahel region.
The Department of Defence is the third pillar of our foreign policy. It shapes the defence policy as part of a general policy and manages the procurement of new capabilities.
One question which is often asked is: “Does Luxembourg have an army?”. Yes, we do. We always did. Conscription was abolished in the 1960s and since then we have an army recruiting volunteers totalling 1000 personnel. The NCO and officers are professionals, whereas the volunteers sign a contract for four years’ service. Luxembourg’s army, like many other armies, is facing a slight recruitment problem. It is still manageable but we need a certain amount of soldiers to perform the duties and responsibilities assigned to the defence sector.
What are these? Our military obligations derive mostly from NATO but also from the EU. In regular peer reviews, we outperform many of our partners, for example in the actual deployment rates of our troops. Aside from being ready to defend NATO, which is the prevailing priority, the main task of Luxembourg’s army is to participate in peace-keeping missions. Over the past decades we have participated in all major UN, NATO and EU missions, provided that they were based on UNSC resolutions. Luxembourg participated in the first Iraq war, we were present in former Yugoslavia right from the start and until late last year we had a contingent in Afghanistan: first in Kabul, and then in Kandahar. We have EOD personnel in South Lebanon, Medevac personnel and officers in Mali, military personnel in Congo, etc.
Defence spending in Luxembourg has always been more complicated. NATO’s target is 2% of GDP and we are around 0.4%. For a small army without a navy or air force, it is difficult to spend on the same scale as countries that maintain these capabilities. Another direct reason for the low spending is the recent abolishment of our “gendarmerie”, which was a military corps. After its merger with the police it became a civil corps and its budget is no longer listed as defence expenditure.
The Government has been looking for intelligent ways to boost spending. The objective was to acquire new capabilities which would act as a contribution by Luxembourg’s defence to the general defence effort of our partners. A major acquisition programme was launched by Luxembourg’s defence in early 2000 with the purchase of an A400M transport plane and new generation armoured reconnaissance vehicles to be deployed in peace keeping missions. Last year, the Government decided to acquire a military communications satellite.
Luxembourg’s defence does not need these very expensive capabilities for its own use. They are meant to be put at the disposal of NATO, the EU or other partners in order to achieve common goals. The fact that we have chosen a transport plane or a communications satellite is in direct response to urgent needs defined by NATO.
The main policies and recent landmark activities of Luxembourg’s Foreign policy
European integration was and remains the top priority and the single most important dossier of Luxembourg’s foreign policy. And it concerns the entire Luxembourg administration.
Why is the EU so important to us? Firstly: for historic reasons. Also, there is a strong symbol which is no coincidence. One of the founding fathers, Robert Schuman, was half-Luxembourgish on his mother’s side. He was born in Luxembourg and his mother tongue was Luxembourgish. He did his baccalaureate in Luxembourg and studied law in Germany. He was drafted into the Reichswehr during World War 1. But he is best known for having been the French Foreign Minister who, in his inspired speech on May 9th, 1950, instigated the idea for European cooperation to make any future war impossible. This led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community. Schuman’s life and actions sum up the general feeling of the Luxembourgers with regard to Europe. Located in the middle of Western Europe amidst strong neighbours, Luxembourg had a vested interest in them remaining peaceful. Luxembourgish, French and German are all our official languages which allow us to speak to them in their own language and build bridges. A second reason for the EU’s importance was economical. As an important steel producer thanks to its iron ore, Luxembourg was looking for open markets. The ECSC provided this. Luxembourg’s sincere good will and open policy were its biggest assets compared to the distrust which remained vivid amongst nations formerly at war. It was opportune when the 6 founding members were looking for somewhere to locate the new institutions of the ECSC, its Commission and tribunal. Not one of the “big” countries would suffer another to host these institutions. Memories of the war and old reflexes were still much too present. It was Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Joseph Bech, who proposed a solution to keep things going would be to temporarily locate these institutions in Luxembourg.
The reason why I went into great lengths in this story is that it sums up all the principal aspects of Luxembourg’s attitude towards Europe. Combining the determination to end centuries of almost constant war and instead creating a community of shared values. Promoting trade for the benefit of all states and making the European idea progress for the benefit of the people. Using its skill and goodwill to help shape compromise (the “Luxembourg compromises”), and for finding collective solutions to stalemates. We have been blessed with skilled political figures that played a decisive role in Europe.
Luxembourg was at the forefront of all major European progress, such as the single market or enlargement. We continue to believe very strongly in the vision of the founding fathers and are very keen to see the EU progress further.
This is not meant to sound provocative. EU integration has never been laid against the interests of any of its member states and what has been achieved has been done so collectively with the agreement of all. It is obvious that some of us want to go ahead faster and others want the pace to slow down. We, like others, want the EU to be more competitive, the economy to grow faster. We want a more efficient EU and single market but we do not wish to reduce the EU to a trade zone: we want it to be a strong player on the international scene.
One interesting experience is the systematic dialogue candidate countries seek with us. They want to know how a country as small as Luxembourg managed to survive, retain its independence and its identity, was allowed to prosper and thrive. This is proof that the EU is not designed to strangle member states and hinder them from their natural development. Of course, rules are imposed which do not always make us happy either. We are certainly not blind enthusiastic EU followers who are happy about everything, hence the views we share with the UK on FTT or our more recent disputes with the Commission on fiscal matters.
The most prominent recent diplomatic activity is certainly the two year non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council which came to its end in December 2014. It would be difficult to impress a British public, as the UK has been a P5 member since the beginning. However, it was a tremendously useful und thrilling experience which contributed to maturing and focusing our Foreign Service. Luxembourg’s candidature was officially launched in 2002 and in the ensuing years we campaigned - which was quite daunting as we were competing against Australia and Finland. We were eventually elected in October 2012.
Why did we want to join in the first place, when it was such a big challenge for a small country with a small foreign service? The reason is that the UN and the work at the level of the UNSC sum up the priorities of Luxembourg’s foreign policy and it forced us to explore new paths.
It was Luxembourg’s first membership in the UNSC in almost 70 years. We wanted, of course, to take this as seriously as possible and we worked hard to cover all the subjects which would befall us. Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn travelled to New York many times and chaired the SC. The Prime Minister participated in last September’s ministerial week and met world leaders there.
For the duration of our term, Luxembourg chaired the WG on children in armed conflicts and the Sanctions Committee on North Korea. The most dramatic moments were certainly those linked to the situation in Syria when Luxembourg and Australia co-sponsored a resolution on the humanitarian situation. The work of the UNSC helped us to establish new quality relations with fellow partners like the UK.
Foreign affairs never rest. The next challenge is around the corner with the Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers which starts on July 1st. Every resource of the diplomatic service will be mobilised to tackle this challenge, the 12th in our European history.
Perspectives
Same challenges as most countries; do we still need European embassies?
There is no longer one single sort of diplomacy. Now we speak of economic diplomacy, public diplomacy or even twitter diplomacy. Our ministers speak to each other directly as they meet so often. Some think that we no longer need embassies in Europe and that everything can be sorted out in Brussels. We do not believe that. But the job is changing and we have to adapt and justify our existence.
What sort of general conclusion can I draw from this? The moment Luxembourg resolutely decided to become a fully committed member of the international community and a proponent of European integration, it changed its destiny. Some people say that Luxembourg is punching way above its weight. Especially in the EU, member states are expected to be fully involved. There is no room for a half-hearted attitude as one damages one’s own position and interests. Being involved and committed is the guarantee to shape - in harmony with partners - a better European integration.